Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Ukrainian Railways report casualties after rockets hit eastern rail station

The United States on Wednesday announced sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters and said it was toughening penalties against Russian banks in retaliation for “war crimes” in Ukraine. On the other side, Britain slapped another round of sanctions on Russia, targeting two banks and eliminating all Russian oil and coal imports by the end of the year. In response, Moscow said it will take reciprocal measures against British media in Russia.

The United States assesses thatRussiahas now completed its withdrawal from around Kyiv and is refitting and resupplying its troops for an expected redeployment into Ukraine, a senior USdefense official said on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Ukrainian Railways report casualties after rockets hit eastern rail station

State-owned Ukrainian Railways said on Wednesday there were a number of casualties after three rockets hit a rail station in eastern Ukraine, damaging buildings, tracks and rail stock. (Reuters)

The EU is looking to add two of Russian President Vladimir Putin's daughters to its sanctions blacklist over Moscow's war on Ukraine, according to a list seen by AFP Wednesday and confirmed by several diplomats. (AFP)

Moscow says it will take reciprocal steps against UK media after sanctions

Moscow will take reciprocal measures against British media inRussia, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, after London imposed sanctions against Russian state-controlled news outlets. (Reuters)

Britain slapped another round of sanctions onRussiaWednesday in response to its invasion of Ukraine, targeting two banks and eliminating all Russian oil and coal imports by the end of the year. (AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukrainian authorities of being behind "crude and cynical" provocations in the town of Bucha as he spoke to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. (AFP)

US slaps sanctions on Putin's daughters, Russia's biggest banks

The White House announced sanctions Wednesday targetingRussia's top public and private banks and two daughters of Vladimir Putin, adding more pressure on the country's economy and its elite over the invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Hungary will pay Russia in rubles for gas if asked: PM Orban

Ukrainian soldiers stand next to the grave of a civilian in Bucha

(Credit: Reuters Photo)

US indicts Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev for sanctions violations

Putin says Ukraine behind 'crude and cynical provocations' in Bucha

NATO chief Stoltenberg warns Ukraine war could last 'many months, even years'

Red Cross convoy reaches Zaporizhzhia with refugees from southeast Ukraine

Ukrainian servicemen cover the coffin with the national flag of their comrade, who was killed in Russia's invasion of Ukraine

(Credit: AFP Photo)

Residents of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions asked to urgently evacuate

Satellite images show Russian denial on Bucha civilian deaths 'not tenable': Germany

Zelenskyy accuses foreign leaders of lacking integrity.

Zelenskyy said he couldn’t tolerate the West’s indecisiveness after Russia’s war crimes. “We still have to convince Europe that Russian oil must not provide the Russian military machine with a generous flow of money.”

UN General Assembly to vote Thursday on suspending Russia from Human Rights Council: Official

UK's PM says Bucha killings in Ukraine not 'far short of genocide'

Russia's new auto sales in March slump 63% year on year

New car sales in Russia stood at 55,129 units in March, down 62.9% year on year, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) said on Wednesday.

For the first quarter, Russia's sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles were down 28.4% to 277,332 units.
AEB did not provide a forecast for the Russian market.

The sector is suffering from a global shortage of parts and a fall in the rouble caused by Western sanctions on Russia.[Reuters Reports]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Wednesday condemned hesitancy in Europe over barring Russian energy imports, arguing some leaders were more concerned with business losses than with war crimes.

New "rhetoric" about sanctions had emerged, he told the Irish parliament, "but I cannot tolerate any indecisiveness after everything we have gone through and everything that Russia has done to us". (AFP Reports)

Website of Russian oil company Gazprom Neft goes down after apparent hack

The website of Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, went down on Wednesday after an apparent hack, in what looked like the latest attack on government-linked pages over Russia's actions in Ukraine.

What looked like a hacked version of the website briefly posted a statement purporting to be from Gazprom's Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Miller last month called on the gas giant's 500,000 employees to rally around Putin to preserve Russia as a great power in the face of foreign attempts to break her.

The statement attributed to him on what looked like the hacked version of the site cited him as making critical comments about Russia's decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

The website stopped working soon afterward.

A Gazprom spokesman dismissed the statement as nonsense. Gazprom Neft declined immediate comment.

The website of Russian state news agency TASS was hacked in February, with the regular site replaced with a message calling for Moscow to halt what it calls its 'special operation' in Ukraine.[Reported Reuters]

US, European Union to bring more sanctions on Russia

The United States, European Union, and G7 are set to toughen sanctions on Russia following allegations of war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

A source in Washington says the US will ban all new investment in Russia. The White House says it will also add sanctions on government officials and "their family members", as well as state-owned entreprises, reported AFP

The EU has proposed banning Russian ships from European ports and halting Russian coal imports, but European Council president Charles Michel says the bloc would also have to act "sooner or later" on Russian oil and gas.

Oil futures were mixed on Wednesday, recovering from early losses, as the threat of new sanctions on Russia raised supply concerns, countering fears of weaker demand following a build in U.S. crude stockpiles and Shanghai's extended lockdown.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy examines the site of a recent battle in Bucha close to Kyiv. Credit: AP Photo

⚡️Russian air strikes destroy oil depot, set fire to factory in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast area

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Twitter has announced not to amplify or recommend government accounts in countries -- starting with Russia -- that limit access to free information and are engaged in armed interstate conflict whether Twitter is blocked in that country or not.

Twitter said when a government blocks or limits access to online services within their state, undercutting the public's voice and ability to freely access information, but continues to use online services for their own communications, a severe information imbalance is created.

The United States expected to announce tough new sanctions on Russia Wednesday, including a ban on new investments

The United States was expected to announce tough new sanctions on Russia Wednesday, including a ban on new investments, a day after Ukraine's president showed the UN Security Council harrowing images of violence and accused Moscow of widespread atrocities.

The sanctions come after an outcry over the discovery of dozens of bodies in civilian clothing in areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn around Ukraine's capital, including the town of Bucha.

Turkey on Wednesday joined the global condemnation of the murder of civilians in the town of Bucha and other cities in Ukraine, and called for an independent investigation.

Man dies crashing car into Russian embassy in Romanian capital

A driver died ramming his car into the gate of the Russian embassy in Bucharest early on Wednesday, police in the Romanian capital said in a statement.

A video recorded before firefighters arrived showed the front of the car in flames as it remained wedged in the gate.